1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of credit life insurance benefits and, in particular, to an on-line (Internet) based method of purchasing credit life insurance benefits.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically, when an individual purchases goods, property, or services on credit, the individual may also purchase credit life insurance benefits policy wherein the policy's premium is based upon the amount of indebtedness incurred for that purchase. If the individual dies before the indebtedness is paid, the insurance company will pay the full balance then owed. Depending on the type of credit life insurance benefits policy, if the individual is hospitalized or laid off from work before the indebtedness is paid, the insurance company will make the periodic debt payments during the hospitalization or lay off from work period pursuant to the terms of the policy.
If the individual takes out a mortgage, the individual may purchase credit life insurance to cover the mortgage payments. If the individual purchases an automobile on credit, the individual may purchase credit life insurance to cover the loan payments. If the individual purchases furniture or appliances on credit, the individual may purchase credit life insurance on the loan payments. In some instances the individual may purchase credit life insurance to cover the balance owed on certain credit cards without regard to the nature of the purchases, which comprise the balance owed.
Each granting of credit can be covered by a separate credit life insurance policy. In some cases the respective lender or credit grantor requires the credit life insurance as a condition of making the loan or granting the credit. In many cases, the credit life insurance is not factually mandatory, but the individual is led to believe that credit life insurance is mandatory and therefore purchases the insurance. Typically, the premiums for credit life insurance policies are astronomically high when compared to other life insurance policies.
In applicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 09/846,616 “Card Management System and Method Therefor” filed on May 1, 2001, a card management system was disclosed and is herewith incorporated into this application by reference. This invention is a method and system for on-line credit card and social card management, wherein the card is issued to an individual who is a card user by a card issuing organization. The individual, using his own computer, interfaces through the Internet with a card management organization to a computer system within the card management organization and requests certain activities pertaining to his card such as: change of address, request for change in credit limit, dispute over a billing, etc. The computer system includes a computer program that processes the individual's requests pertaining to the individual's cards and informs the card issuer and/or credit reporting bureaus of the individual's requests via the Internet. The computer system thereafter informs the individual via the Internet that the card issuer and/or credit-reporting bureau has received the request.
This prior invention allows an individual to establish contact with credit grantors via the Internet. However it does not provide a means for obtaining the individual's credit report, or for obtaining a consolidated report of the individual's total indebtedness.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an on line (Internet based) method for determining an individual's total indebtedness.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide an on line (Internet based) method for purchasing credit life insurance benefits consolidation services.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of allowing a card and/or a credit management organization or a credit watch or credit monitoring organization, which have a means to obtain credit information from credit reporting bureaus, to provide credit life insurance benefits consolidation services for a individual.